It's A Charmed Life!

It's my turn today on the Simple Stories blog and I have a super adorable mini album to share! First, let me start off by saying that I LOVE Simple Stories NEW "A Charmed Life" collection. This one is right up my alley, the colors are perfect, the elements are perfect, and I just adore all of the sweet sentiments. 

I have been hanging on to this little Maya Road Chipboard/Acrylic stand album for a while, but decided to finally put it in use. I needed a new piece to sit on my desk. 

My husband and I got anniversary photos taken this past year, so I wanted to have them on display for sure! I take every opportunity that I get to have a photo session. The end results are a fun time and amazing photos that last a lifetime. These did not let me down. We had a blast with this photos session! 

The sun was so bright that morning so we couldn't get a ton of photos down by the river, but I adore this one. That's the great Ohio River for those of you wondering.

Here's a few pages from the inside. I used some of the Sn@p cards on the top pages because I loved the sentiments and these little cards fit perfectly. 

Another element from this collection that I love are the little chipboard stickers. They give some nice dimension to projects and they are just adorable!

Here's the album from the side.... if I would have put anything else on it, I believe it would fall over! 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Products Used:

Simple Stories: A Charmed Life 
6x6 Paper Pad #3722
Bits & Pieces #3729
Chipboard #3728
Brads #3727
Insta Squares #3730
Sn@p Cards #3723

Maya Road- Acrylic Album
Petaloo- Velvet Hydrangeas
May Arts- 5/8' Grosgrain Dots: DD57, DD15; 3/8" Metallic Velvet 377-38-55

A "Jolly Whimsy" Pinspired Project!

Wow! Christmas is OFFICIALLY less than a week away! I've still been creating Christmas crafts simply because I got a late start. I also haven't finished shopping... but that's another story! For me, 2013 has been busy to say the least! 

Today I wanted to share a Pinterest Inspired project that was not an epic fail! Normally when I try to copycat a Pinterest project, it just doesn't turn out how I want it to. 

Here's the original Pin:

I have wanted to try an altered muffin tin for a long time! Last summer I was at an estate sale and picked up a couple of muffin tins. They have been sitting here ever since... so I decided that it was finally time to try my pinterest find!

I couldn't find the right color of spray paint so I decided to start back at square one... then I found this ADORABLE little muffin tin  that I had purchased from Jillibean Soup a while back. I could have used my larger muffin tins, but I got a new idea and wanted to use this one. 

One of my favorite Christmas collections this year is the "Jolly Whimsy" stack from DCWV. Pink + Christmas makes me one happy girl! I love when companies bring in non-traditional colors to their Christmas lines.

Here is the end result to my project.... See! Not a fail! I LOVE how it turned out!

I started out by painting my tin with enamel paint. I then added a little spray adhesive and some glitter... ok... A LOT of glitter. 

I added some pretty flowers from Petaloo and I found a little Vertigo snowflake left over from a previous project and added it in there too. 

I used my Round 25 tool and bubble caps from Epiphany Crafts to punch the circles for the tin, they fit PERFECT! How cool is that? 

 Thanks for stopping by today! Have a very Merry Christmas!

Products Used:
Epiphany Crafts- Round 25 tool & Bubble caps, Flower 20 tool & bubble capsDCWV- Jolly Whimsy StackJillibean Soup- Mini Muffin Tin
Petaloo- Velvet Hydrangeas
May Arts- 361-58-17, SM34
Imagine Crafts- Vertigo
Spellbinders- Snowflake Die

Spellbinders Platimun Party! Blog Hop

I’m excited to be part of the Spellbinders Platinum Party Blog Hop today!  I created this great project using Spellbinders Holiday and everyday dies, along with products from Imagine Crafts and Authentique Paper.

Be sure to CLICK HERE to enter for your chance to win the Holiday Blog Hop Grand Prize

Since I got the Spellbinders Creative Book Pages, I have been itching to create another mini album! I was thrilled to get a chance to incorporate some of the new Christmas dies into my album, along with lots of other fun products! 

To make this, simply cut your shape from chipboard and patterned paper like shown above.

Glue your papers to the chipboard pieces (front and back.) Once glue has dried, ink the edged with coordinating inks.

Punch holes in the tops of the pieces and add large eyelets. Add binding rings through the eyelets to hold your book together. 

I created a few embellishments from my dies. I really loved the layered poinsettia die, so I cut one of those with the leaves and misted it with some Shimmer Spritz to give a nice little sparkle.

I cut the little snowflakes out of the new Vertigo from Imagine Crafts. This stuff is AWESOME! 

Add embellishments & ribbon and your album is complete! I always play with my embellishments before I glue them down. It's often hard to find the perfect spot so I try different pieces in different places. The snowflakes worked out perfectly peeking from behind some of my other embellishments. I love them!

There are several pages to this little album, I just love the layered shaped pages.

I embellished with my die cuts, some Petaloo Flowers, and die cuts from Authentique Paper's "Joyous" Paper Crafting Kit. Actually, I created this ENTIRE album with that little kit!

I always LOVE to add ribbons to my albums! May Arts Ribbons are the absolute best! Soooo many to choose from! 

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to hop over to the Imagine Crafts blog for more amazing projects! 

Products Used: 

Spellbinders: SF-055 Layered Poinsettia; LF-001 Creative Book Pages, SS-185 2013 Snowflake Pendant

Imagine Crafts:  Dew Drops- Brilliance: Rocket Red; Memento: Tuxedo Black, Pistachio; Shimmer Spritz: Sparkle; Ink Blushers; Vertigo: Taffea

Authentique Paper: "Joyous" Paper Crafting Kit
May Arts Ribbon: SE01, SM14, 392-58-14, EA9-14, KA56, 408-05-16, NP14, 377-38-10, AKB10
Petaloo: Flowers
DCWV: Gem Stickers

Get Inky with a Vintage Collector Layout

Happy Friday!!! It seems like this day can never come soon enough when you start on Monday! I have a simple & sweet layout to share with you today that I created with DCWV papers and Imagine Crafts inks. 

I'm so happy to be a part of the DCWV & Imagine Crafts design teams, I love both products and they coordinate really well! I've been blessed to get a chance to work with this sweet girl in the photo, maybe she looks familiar? It's Erin Madsen from DCWV! We snapped a pic at CHA this summer and I had to create a layout with it (though layouts aren't my thing, I kinda love this one!)

To create a similar layout, you will need some paper, ink and embellishments.

For this layout, I used DCWV's Vintage Collector stack. This one is really great, full of lots of fun paper, the colors are perfect!

Start out with some coordinating Dew Drops and Ink Blushers from Imagine Crafts. You will need 2 12x12 pieces of paper. Cut the paper that you want for the inside down to 11x11. Layering makes the layout really pop.

Ink the edges with an ink blusher. These little guys are great for giving a soft look to the edges of projects with coordinating inks.

You can use the same ink blusher for multiple colors of ink... just flip it around! 

I wanted something to break up the page so I decided to fussy cut the hexagon page. 

Again, inking the edges with another color, same ink blusher.

To make the photo stand out, add a mat. I love glitter paper, so I used the Glitzy Glitter cardstock stack.

Now it's time to glue everything down and embellish! I added flowers from Petaloo and some of these NEW Gem Stickers from DCWV. 

Viola! A quick and easy layout that looks oh so chic!

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Products Used:

Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko- Versamagic Dew Drops: Sahara Sand, Pink Petunia, Aquatic Splash; Ink Blushers

DCWV- Vintage Collector Stack, Glitzy Glitter Stack, Gem Stickers

Petaloo- Flowers

May Arts- SM17

Multi-colored Background Enhancements with Imagine Crafts & Stampendous

For my project today, I wanted to work with Authentique's "Remembrance" collection. I've had this one laying around and I have made a few projects with it so far, but I wanted to do a page for someone who was very special in my life. 

My uncle passed away almost 6 years ago and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him. It was sudden and unexpected, they say time will heal and it does. As a crafter, the best I can do is use my talent & ability to preserve the memory of those loved ones that we have lost. 

For my layout, I wanted to add some extra wow factor to the background. I used the Calligraphy Sampler cling stamp from Stampendous and Sweet Plum & Gray Flannel Memento dew drops. 

Layer the ink onto the stamp by alternating colors. You will want to pick colors that will blend well. Next, take an ink blusher and dab a little of the ink off to give a nice soft look. 

Stamp onto your background page. 

It's ok if you don't stamp the entire image, you can cover it up with photo mats & embellishments, you want the look to blend with your page as much as possible so it looks natural.

You can also stamp the photo mat to give the look of patterned paper by using a slightly darker shade of ink than your paper.

I stamped in a diagonal because I just wanted a little to show.

Add your photos and embellishments to your page.

You can see the stamped image behind the photo, and like I stated above, it blends with the background paper like it was already there. 

 Thanks for stopping by today!

Products Used:

Imagine Crafts- Memento Dew Drops: Sweet Plum, Gray Flannel, Pistachio; Ink Blushers
Stampendous- Cling Calligraphy Sampler
Authentique Paper- "Remembrance" Collection
May Arts- SM07
Petaloo- Flowers

A "Thrilling" Canvas with Authentique Paper & Imagine Crafts

Welcome! This month the Imagine Crafts AIRs are featuring Authentique Paper's new "Thrilling" collection in their projects. Lucky me, I am an AIR and a member of the Authentique Paper DT, so I wanted to make this post double the fun! 

I decided to play around a little. One of my favorite things to alter with Imagine Crafts products are canvases. I have an abundant amount of little canvases in my drawer just waiting to be inked. This was the perfect project for today, a little canvas makes a great piece of seasonal home decor! 

First, you will need to gather up some supplies. The canvas that I used is a 4x4 stretched canvas from Canvas Corp. I also used Authentique's "Thrilling" collection along with some Fireworks and NEW Memento Luxe from Imagine Crafts. 

I LOVE stencils from The Crafters Workshop. They are perfect to pair with sprays and inks. First, I took some Tingelo Fireworks spray and misted the canvas lightly. 

I wied the stencil and let the fireworks dry a little, then proceeded to add some Memento Luxe in a few places with a sponge dauber. This gives a nice smoky Halloweeny look. 

I didn't like the white edges, so I also added Memento Luxe to the edges.

This is what my canvas looked like after inking.

I decided that I wanted a little bit of sparkle, so I added some Sheer Shimmer Spritz in Frost to my canvas.

Go figure, I wasn't thinking, the ink began to bleed a little after spritzing, but I kinda like the look. Kinda looks eerie, right?

Now it's time to embellish! I wanted a little rosette to add to my canvas, so I made one with my scor-pal!

I also LOVE to use stickers as embellishments. Sometimes I don't need the back to be sticky, if you are the same way, you can de-activate the sticky by adding powder to the back. The cool thing about the Authentique stickers is that they are printed on a nice heavyweight paper so if you de-activate the sticky, it's just like having a little die cut to use. 

I added some fun tulle from Maya Road and then some stickers from the 12x12 sticker sheet.

When I make canvases, I never know what I'm going to do, I add and subtract little pieces here and there, but I always end up loving the end result! I think that the Petaloo webbed flowers & May Arts jute string were both perfect finishing touches to this piece! 

Here's a few more peeks for your viewing pleasure :-)

Products Used:

Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko- Memento Luxe: Tuxedo Black, Fireworks: Tingelo, Sheer Shimmer Spritz: Frost, Sponge Dauber

Authentique Paper- "Thrilling" Collection: 6x6 Bundle, 12x12 Details Sticker Sheet

The Crafters Workshop- TCW156 Cosmic Swirl

Canvas Corp- 4x4 Stretched Canvas

Maya Road- Tulle

May Arts- SM28, SM08

Petaloo- Mixed Textured Layers Flowers